Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

Chapter 709: Chapter 709 New Director

Scripture Pavilion, the sixth floor.

Wang Chen, sitting in a corner, carefully placed a book of Taoist Canon back on the shelf.

This thick volume had taken him nearly three days to finish reading entirely.

And he had gained much from it.

Although there were no Cultivation Techniques or secrets within the texts, the knowledge of nature and the profound ways of the universe presented in it had given Wang Chen many inspirations and insights for his cultivation.

The creator of this Taoist Canon, “Xuanxuanzi,” was undoubtedly a highly cultivated Power Man; it was a pity that many pieces of wisdom had been left to gather dust on the shelves, just like this book.

...

Until Wang Chen discovered, read, and learned from it.

Only then did its brilliance bloom anew.

Wang Chen stood up and looked around, involuntarily letting out a long sigh.

Three years had passed.

Counting the time, it had been exactly three years since he was transferred from the Patrol and Arrest Bureau to manage the Scripture Pavilion!

For Wang Chen, these three years were the most stable and peaceful thousand days of his life.

Apart from his relentless daily practice, he spent most of his time reading.

With the convenience of his position, Wang Chen had browsed through thousands of books over the years.

But that was still only a small portion of the Scripture Pavilion’s collection.

And now, Wang Chen was already thirty years old!

Although he had reached the age of maturity, he still appeared to be eighteen or nineteen, young, healthy, and vibrant, with only a hint of maturity brought by the years settling into his dark eyes.

“Manager Wang…”

A Book Servant hurriedly appeared at the staircase entrance and saluted Wang Chen, “Manager Cao asks for your presence in the small hall for a meeting.”

Wang Chen nodded, “Alright.”

When he reached the small hall on the second floor, he saw that Scripture Pavilion’s Director, Cao Ke, along with four other managers, had already arrived.

Three years had passed, and Wang Chen was still one of the four managers, with no change in his position.

However, the Scripture Pavilion was considered a cold and insignificant part of the administrative system within the Yongle Immortal City; whether one was a director or a manager, everyone was essentially sitting on a cold bench, with no real distinction in rank.

Apart from the director and the managers, there was also a proud-looking young cultivator present.

Wang Chen could tell at a glance that this person must be from an Immortal Clan Noble Family!

“Today I’ve called you all here to announce an important matter,” Cao Ke said with an impassive face, “from today onwards, Taoist Friend He Haoming here will take over as the director of the Scripture Pavilion!”

Wang Chen and the other managers couldn’t help but exchange looks.

If Wang Chen could discern the young cultivator’s status, how could the other managers not?

What they failed to understand was how a member of a Noble Clan would come to be the director of the Scripture Pavilion?

Even if it were for the experience, there were many better places than the Scripture Pavilion!

But despite their confusion, the several managers quickly recovered and offered their congratulations to the newly appointed director.

He Haoming graciously returned the gesture, “My colleagues, now that I’m in charge here, I will inevitably need your assistance. Tomorrow evening, I’ll host a banquet at the New Moon Building and I hope you’ll honor me with your presence.”

“The director is too polite!”

They all spoke in unison, painting a harmonious and joyful scene.

Cao Ke, however, stood up and said, “Director He, I have other engagements tonight, so I won’t be attending. Till we meet again.”

After saying that, he left the small hall straight away.

He Haoming was clearly caught off guard and subconsciously frowned.

The atmosphere instantly turned awkward.

Wang Chen watched with detached interest, feeling an uneasy premonition stirring within him.

Given the former director Cao Ke’s abrupt departure, the meeting about the personnel change ended in an awkward and inelegant fashion.

In the evening, after the Scripture Pavilion closed, Wang Chen was heading home from work when he suddenly received a Crane Message.

He changed directions and headed to a nearby small tavern.

There, he once again met Cao Ke.

“Sit.”

Cao Ke gestured for Wang Chen to take a seat and personally poured him a cup of Spiritual Wine.

Over the past three years, Wang Chen had maintained a polite, but distant relationship with the other managers, interacting only to the extent required among colleagues.

But his relationship with Cao Ke was good.

“What happened?”

Wang Chen picked up his cup and took a sip before asking, “Why were you suddenly transferred out?”

“If it were a transfer, it would have been fine.”

Cao Ke said with a bitter smile, “I’ve been sidelined.”

Wang Chen was shocked: “What?”

Being sidelined is just another word for being unemployed, pulled down by those above.

If Cao Ke hadn’t been doing his job well or to a satisfactory standard, there would be nothing to discuss.

But, to be fair, although Cao Ke was somewhat aloof, under his management, the affairs of the Scripture Pavilion had always been well-organized; there had never been any mistakes.

And yet, he had lost his position just like that.

The problem was, being the manager of the Scripture Pavilion wasn’t such a great position!

Wang Chen couldn’t help asking, “How could this happen?”

“I didn’t pay my respects to those above this year.”

Cao Ke’s face was filled with bitterness: “Some issues came up at home, and the little Spirit Stones I had saved up were all used up.”

Wang Chen was speechless.

Serving as the manager of the Scripture Pavilion might sound prestigious, but it truly lacked any substantial benefits, and to think one even had to bribe those above to keep their position!

“Let’s not talk about that.”

Cao Ke shook his head, saying in a serious tone, “I invited you over to remind you, this He Haoming is no good thing; don’t let him catch you in a weak spot in the future.”

He Haoming was a young member of the He family.

The He family was a major Immortal Clan in Yongle Immortal City, prominent, wealthy, and deeply entrenched in power.

Originally, He Haoming had been working in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but he was assigned to the Scripture Pavilion to lay low after being implicated in a corruption scandal, which unfortunately brought Cao Ke an undeserved calamity!

This son of the He family had excellent talent and was considered a Golden Core seed, but his nature was greedy, he highly valued gain and loved wealth.

“He’s hosting a banquet to invite you guys because he wants your congratulatory gifts!”

Cao Ke continued, “And giving too little won’t do; if you skimp, be ready to deal with his backlash and pettiness afterwards!”

“But you can’t give too much either, or else he’ll think you have plenty to squeeze out of you and will try to exploit you as much as possible.”

Wang Chen found it hard to believe: “Really?”

“Of course!”

Cao Ke said with a sneer, “He wants to condense his Golden Core, and just relying on his family, he can’t gather all the Eight Treasures of Core Condensation. Without plotting to gain some from the outside, he can give up on even thinking about a third-grade Golden Core!”

So that was it!

Wang Chen had also been collecting Condensing Core Treasures and was very aware of how difficult it was to obtain high-quality treasures for Core Condensation!

To date, he was still missing two rare materials.

“Just be careful anyway.”

Cao Ke concluded, “If you want to continue at the Scripture Pavilion, getting past He Haoming is a hurdle you must clear.”

Wang Chen was truly troubled.

Having been in this job for a few years, he was quite satisfied with it. Although others saw him as a dead fish, the long-term benefits of reading and studying books were considerable.

If he left now, it wouldn’t be easy to continue borrowing and reading books like this.

But to bow and scrape to someone like He Haoming just for a minor manager position…

Wang Chen thought that if the problem couldn’t be resolved, perhaps the person creating the problem could be dealt with?

This thought wasn’t wrong, was it?

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The first update is here.